"Factory Demo"

I am writing not to question the reliability of Cameta Camera. The company seems to get good marks here. Rather, I would like to know from people who have purchased factory demos on eBay from the company what the cosmetic condition of the camera was like and what the actuation count was.

I don't know if it makes any difference but I am especially interested in the D300 model.

I've purchased a d50 and a d80 demo from Cameta. Both were cosmentically indistinguishable from new. No idea what the shutter count was on the d50. The d80 had a few, but way less than 100, just don't remember how many.

Hi,
I am new here and this is my first post. I was looking for D300 from Cameta Camera as well but I realized that they do not offer Nikon Warranty but Cameta Camera Store warranty. Which is a big no no for me since I would rather go with Nikon warranty than any store warranty.

I had a D200 with less than 10 clicks and a D40 with something like 350 clicks. Both looked as if they were new; no scratches on the LCD, spotless body, and all accessories (strap, battery, charger, cables, etc) in brand new condition.

I'm not too worried about who the warranty provides; in case of problems it gets repaired by Nikon anyway.

Make sure you're patient when bidding on Cameta factory demo's, if you miss out on an auction there will be at least two replacements within a day. Make sure you don't end up in a bidding war. Set yourself a limit, and bid once, one minute before closing, with your maximum bid. This way I got my D40 about two months ago for $325 and the D200 about a year ago (when it sold for $1499 at B&H) for $1100.

Hi,
I am new here and this is my first post. I was looking for D300 from Cameta Camera as well but I realized that they do not offer Nikon Warranty but Cameta Camera Store warranty. Which is a big no no for me since I would rather go with Nikon warranty than any store warranty.

But it's a matter of personal choice

Regards

Click to expand...

You may want to look closely at each of their offerings. Some items, both D200 and D300 are factory new, including the Nikon factory warranty. While the pricing is not as attractive as the Demo's, it still is very competitive.
They state in the details of each item, which warranty applies. I just won an e-bay auction from them for a D300 demo. I personally was not worried that it had a Cameta warranty if they are reputable as everyone says.

I am writing not to question the reliability of Cameta Camera. The company seems to get good marks here. Rather, I would like to know from people who have purchased factory demos on eBay from the company what the cosmetic condition of the camera was like and what the actuation count was.

I don't know if it makes any difference but I am especially interested in the D300 model.

Thank you

Click to expand...

I may be able to offer some meaningful info next week, as I have just purchased a D300 demo. With UPS ground, it should arrive first of the week (July 21st or 22nd).

Do a few searches here, they are well known. Although I have not gotten anything from them myself I did call Nikon asking about "Factory demos" and Cameta Camera in particular a few years ago. They are for real and well known by Nikon as they are not far from the Melville, NY Nikon service center.

Here is my thinking on a demo model. I recently read (somewhere) and have first-hand experience that electronics has a failure curve, like a bath tub. Highest at the start, then tapering quickly to very low failure rate and going back up after quite a bit of time has elapsed. Hopefully, a Nikon factory demo has either had its initial early failure and has been recognized as having a problem and repaired, or if not, it is likely to last quite a long time. If someone such as a salesperson, has handled and shown the product, he or she would surely notice any defects that many might not even see.

I feel quite comfortable purchasing a product that has undergone a short "burn-in" period and has passed, as opposed to one newly built and run through a test quickly, shoved in a box, and shipped. I worked in the electronics industry for many years, and "burn-in" was an important part of quality control.

If I can save 20-25% at the same time, I for one, think it is worth the risk and I think the risk is minimal when dealing with a reputable company. Even two or three hundred shutter clicks would not bother me in the least with 150K or so remaining and a year warranty to boot.

Just saying what I am comfortable with. Your experiences may say otherwise.

I am writing not to question the reliability of Cameta Camera. The company seems to get good marks here. Rather, I would like to know from people who have purchased factory demos on eBay from the company what the cosmetic condition of the camera was like and what the actuation count was.

I don't know if it makes any difference but I am especially interested in the D300 model.

Thank you

Click to expand...

Richard,
I have purchased both a "factory demo" D2H and D2Hs from Cameta. The D2H had 925 shutter clicks and the D2Hs was at 400 (according to Opanda). The D2H was sold to a friend of mine and is still going strong, although he does not use it a lot. I have over 12k clicks on the D2Hs and have not had a single issue. Both cameras came with a 90 day Nikon Factory warranty and a 1 year Cameta warranty. This past January I purchased a new D300 with the vertical grip, extra battery 4 gig memory card, Nikon shoulder bag, USB2 card reader and a few minor items. I did a "purchase now" on E-bay instead of waiting for the auction to finish. To compare I priced the individual items on B&Hs web site and had saved around $125. I would not hesitate to purchase from them again, be it new of a "factory demo".

A:
Nikon occasionally offers reconditioned products either directly to customers or through dealers. These products have been carefully reconditioned by Nikon Inc. to meet all factory specifications. They contain all original cables, batteries, manuals and other accessories and are protected by a 90-day limited warranty.
Reconditioned products offer truly exceptional value and can be an excellent way for you to begin or expand your Nikon imaging system.

A:
Nikon occasionally offers reconditioned products either directly to customers or through dealers. These products have been carefully reconditioned by Nikon Inc. to meet all factory specifications. They contain all original cables, batteries, manuals and other accessories and are protected by a 90-day limited warranty.
Reconditioned products offer truly exceptional value and can be an excellent way for you to begin or expand your Nikon imaging system.

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Thanks, Dave. That is especially good to know, though I think Cameta must have some way (possibly through Nikon without publicity?) to offer the 1-year guarantee.

Yes Richard, on US Nikon site / service & support / Nikon knowledge database
A good forum of Q&A with responses from Nikon to customer’s questions.
Searchable, & you can submit your own questions & they will be responded to
Within 24 hours (if you register). I will vouch for this as I asked a question of them yesterday & got a response today by email. :biggrin:

Do a few searches here, they are well known. Although I have not gotten anything from them myself I did call Nikon asking about "Factory demos" and Cameta Camera in particular a few years ago. They are for real and well known by Nikon as they are not far from the Melville, NY Nikon service center.

Click to expand...

I understand they are literally just down the road. Nikon offers a 90 day on refurbished bodies, and Cameta supplies the remaining 9 months giving the buyer a 1 year warranty.

Hi,
I am new here and this is my first post. I was looking for D300 from Cameta Camera as well but I realized that they do not offer Nikon Warranty but Cameta Camera Store warranty. Which is a big no no for me since I would rather go with Nikon warranty than any store warranty.

But it's a matter of personal choice

Regards

Click to expand...

When I bought me demo D100, it had 90 day Nikon Warranty and the balance of a year from Cameta.

Appearance wise, it looked like new. However it had a bad habit of not working from time to time and Nikon couldn't fix it. I was too much the noob to know I could get a shutter count then.

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